Good Vibes On A Sunday

Hey, guys. No big, full post today, but I thought that I would send you a smile.

This is my son, Max. He is very silly and loves playing with phones and especially camera filters. He makes me laugh CONSTANTLY. Sometimes he breaks everything and sometimes he yells and sometimes he stubbornly refuses to acknowledge that he loves Grandpa, but he is a good boy. His lego game is crazy on point. I love him so much. Let his good vibes and crazy eyes bless your heart this Sunday.

Far Away Friends

Friends are a good thing to have. Dudley Moore once said, famously, "isn't fun the best thing to have?!?" in the movie Arthur, but I contend that it might not be. Sure, if you could guarantee that life would be ONLY fun forever, I guess that that could be true, but life isn't really like that. Science says everything is going down via the concept of "entropy." Even Jesus Christ guaranteed us that in this life we would have trouble (John 16:33). So, perhaps the best thing to have is somewhat more nuanced.

I would contend that the best thing to have is friends because if you get into trouble, friends can help you and if your friend gets into trouble, you can help them. If you are really friends, both of these actions will be beneficial. When I help someone move, it is good for them because moving sucks and help is needed, but it is also good for me because there is a joy explosion that comes with being a blessing to others. In my 35 years of life, I have had friends who have:

• - Helped me with bills when ends did not meet.
• - Literally helped me get my car off of the back of a repo truck.
• - Give us presents to give our kids for Christmas that were better than our meager offerings.
• - Give us food when we were broke.
• - Give me rides to and from work for almost 6 months without accepting any kind of repayment.
• - Helped me buy multiple cars.
• - Cried with me.
• - Prayed for me/with me.
• - Cared about things that I cared about just because I did.

Not to mention, talk me through almost every kind of heartache and problem that a dumb person can have. When life hits, friends help you hit back. When life is heavy, friends help you carry the load. Friends are the best thing to have because no matter the give or take, whether you celebrate or mourn with them, no matter what comes down the pipe, friends stick together and friendship is much better than being alone. I have had A LOT of friends in 35 years and have tried to be a friend to many more, but this post is about a specific sub-group of friends, Far Away Friends.

For the purpose of this, note that a Far Away Friend is someone who is not in your vicinity and who you cannot interact with, as friends, locally or regularly. One of my mother's best friends, Ellen, was only friends with my mom in person for 2 years, but they have been Far Away Friends for 23 years! Spoiler alert: I have really great Far Away Friends. Some of them have become Far Away over time, but some of them started out that way. With the modern invention of the internet, new and deep connections are possible. But, I have always technically had Far Away Friends, just less far away.

When I was young, AOL was invented and they rolled out something called a "chat room." I was a kid and I liked to chat...so much so that I used to take the school directory of my Jr. High and just call people to try to make friends. Naturally, I went into a chat room and made friends with a 30 year old man named Kevin. We would just talk about weird stuff (nothing nefarious) and it was very chill and casual. We only talked for a year as my interest in chat rooms waned. Kevin was my first Far Away Friend.

Fast forward a few years. Technology boomed and boomed and all of a sudden I had Myspace friends that were people that I have never met in person, but interacted with regularly. Then in 2009, I got Facebook, which got me even more friends that I had never met. I became part of a moderator team on a Facebook group with over 1000 members and got to be Far Away Friends with all of them. Then, fast forward to three years ago and something crazy happened...ESO (Elder Scrolls Online).

We developed a problem in our home, out of nowhere, that plagued us for two years and removed our ability to entertain guests. With two autistic children, it's hard for us to be guests at other people's homes, so without the option to entertain, it was getting real lonely and depressing. We pitched our money at it, other people's money at it (thanks to friends) and it would not go away. Our social life was sidelined, but at a fortuitous time...because I started playing ESO. 

ESO is an mmorpg, or a role playing game that is massive and multiplayer, online. This means that you build characters and gear them out and complete content. There are multiple things to do on ESO, which make it great, but none of them are the BEST thing about ESO. The BEST thing is the social interactions. Since playing this game for 3 years I have made CLOSE friends when I should have been isolated. Instead of suffering alone, I picked up Far Away Friends and boy, was it a blessing to me.

Our "guild" in ESO features so many wonderful people that are really a blessing to me. When my wife wanted to play, but we did not have the means, two of our Far Away Friends put together a used Xbox (they had to pay to fix it and send it to us) and a Samsung tv, which became our bedroom tv and my wife's portal to ESO. Those people live in Washington and Missouri, respectively. We've gotten medical advice from Doctors and Nurses playing High Elves. When I was dealing with deep, world shaking problems, so many people were so attentive and supportive to me. That doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, because I have strong real life friends, but sometimes Far Away Friends are specialists in dealing with existential crises at 11:40pm.

Our network of Far Away Friends has blessed each other too. We really became an online community that loves each other and cares for each other. Strangers who cry with each other, PWN N00bs together, and watch out for each other...it's really great. Even though the positive vibes around ESO are cooling and less people are playing, I still talk to my Far Away Friends every day. I would even if I stopped playing video games altogether.

In life, it is good to have friends. In my life, I have gotten to have great ones, both near and Far. I hope that I have been as good a Far Away Friend to others as they have been to me because Far Away Friends are What's Good this week. If you don't have any Far Away Friends, you should get some. The next stupid game you play, Words With Friends for instance, don't hesitate to shoot a chat over asking "how is your day?" You may be surprised and end up at their wedding 3 years later.

This post is dedicated to all of my very close friends on vidya games. I love ya'll. You truly make my life better.

The Dark

Hey there, ya'll! I don't mean to be inflammatory, but there are a lot of lights on this planet. Street lights outside, skyscraper lights, neon signs, Las Vegas, lights on the space shuttle launch pad, lights inside (think closets, dining rooms, accent)...tons of lights dot everything. There are lights that simply seek to illuminate. Some lights give directions. Some lights sell us things. Lights... they are everywhere...except around me as often as I can arrange. I like The Dark. This post is about The Dark.

Videogamedunkey And By Association, Super Mario 64

Reviewing, critiquing, or hating on things is pretty easy, when you think about it. Our culture is very negative and seeks out "AH HA!" moments to disprove our foes' points or bright lights to shine on how bad things are. It's easy to say "this bowl of ramen sucks!" and then copy and paste that in a Facebook-tagged post, a yelp review, and a text to your friends....maybe even an instagram pic of that HORRIBLE ramen. It's a lot harder to take in something, enojoy it, and explain why/how it made you feel and changed you. That takes effort. People are often afraid to do this.

Good Stuff In Ice Cream

Good day to you sir and/or madame. I hope that this finds you well. I'm writing to you in hopes of expressing myself somehow.

Have you ever noticed how much stuff there is in ice cream?! Ice Cream History Dot Net (which you can bet that I will be exploring later) says that ice cream typically has dairy products, milk proteins, sugar, fat, stabilizers, flavorings, air and ice...but, I am not talking about that. I am talking about the good, sometimes weird stuff.

I mean, we all love some vanilla ice cream. The only way to feel more American on a hot summer day is to put it next to mom's apple pie. You might dress it up and throw some chocolate sauce or sprinkles on it, but it is still just vanilla with some dressing on it. What we are focusing on, today, are some weird flavor game changers.

I like ice cream. Always have. It's kind of hard not to. I like gelato, shakes, whatever. I used to be a wuss about it and stick to plain old vanilla, but have expanded my horizons and am happy to report back that I am thrilled with the results. And now is a great time to be alive with ice cream. You hopefully missed out on listeria and in 2018 can buy a pint of ice cream with ALL KINDS OF @#$! in it. Let me briefly highlight a few of those companies that aren't afraid to supply ice cream teeming with ingredients or toppings or mixins or whatever you wanna call them.

If you are from Texas and DIDN'T get listeria, you almost have to buy Blue Bell. They regularly swap out and add to 5 seasonal flavors or their 20+ others. Your standard fare is often present with standouts like "Key Lime Mango Tart" (which I should have NO BUSINESS liking, but I do) and "Cookie Two Step" (Cookie Dough and Cookies). Heck! You can even get a "Pistachio Almond" flavor pretty regularly, which if you have not seen it before, seems buck wild, but has actually been kicking around for a long time. Weird green salty nuts in creamy dairy? Ice cream scientist are some bold dudes. Like I said, Blue Bell is a standard in Texas and if you have it wherever you are, you should check it out.

From a tantalizing Blue Bell tweet on the Twitter

Ben & Jerry's is a special ice cream maker for me. I grew up in New Hampshire and have been to the original Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont. It was really cool and a high point of my childhood. Ben & Jerry's use their ice cream to put the fun in funky, much like their flavors suggest. They have a flavor based on the jam band, Phish, called "Phish Food," which is filled with chocolate fish and yummy. They have a Stephen Colbert inspired flavor entitled "Ameri-Cone Dream" which is of course filled with waffle cones and angry bees. With flavors like "Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia, and Half Baked," Ben and Jerry's moves their joint to the other side of their mouth and plants their tongue directly into their cheek with stoner humor and has for ages. One thing that they don't joke about at all, however is political activism. So if you enjoy a side of liberal advocacy mixed in with your ice cream, Ben and Jerry's has got your back. There are so many flavors to choose from, you could put them on a rotation and never get tired of ice cream. I recommend that.

From Ben & Jerry's website

Finally, we must mention an industry giant. I never ate Häagen-Dazs 'til I was over 30. I always thought that it was ice cream for the fat and elderly and did not mess with it. Turns out, fat people eat lots of things on the regular and old people have eaten lots of things over the span of their life, so I should have seen their pallets as refined and adhered to their wisdom. Häagen-Dazs is delightful and their "Rum Raisin" is the oldest man flavor there is. It is also lovely and probably my favorite of all of these. I recommend it, even though my wife denounces it as "gross" and an "irresponsible dietary choice..." Yeah, ok, wife.

There is a lot of stuff that goes into ice cream that is good and not listeria. Ice cream is cold and delicious. If you are super lazy, you can even go to a Marble Slab, Cold Stone, or Baskin Robbins and they will make it easy for you. They might even put marshmallows in it or something and you don't even have to scoop it yourself. It should be no surprise that the good stuff in ice cream is What's Good Scott. Even though it is cold outside, try eating some ice cream and not smiling. Try eating a flavor that you never have. Do it for me.

License To Trill

Welcome to What's Good, Scott? It's been awhile. Things haven't really been that "Good." But, as most things are cyclical, I have come around to a spot where things are "Good" enough to entertain positive thought. Thank you for your patience and patronage.

With this creative endeavor it is my goal (always has been) to highlight good things and celebrate them in hopes of amusing/inspiring/titillating you, the person who takes the time to read this. Today is one that I have been wanting to write for a long time. Today is special. Today we highlight "Trill."

Trill is loosely defined by Google as:

This is when someone really just goes for it and sings with gusto. Their voice is their instrument and trill is the vocal equivalent of a guitar solo. The vibrato (whether natural or forced) makes the journey from the note that the singer started on to the note that they end on feel exciting and even soulful. Trill can be utilized in a short or long fashion. For instance, most Jazz or R&B singers are barely able to sing without a little trill, so those genres often produces soulful, sexy, intentional compositions dripping with trill. This is short trill. A good example of long trill is Mariah Carey's song "Emotions," a song with a particularly memorable line of trill which she uses to LAUNCH HER VOICE INTO OUTER-FREAKING SPACE. Now, that's what I call trill...volume 2. When done properly, a singer can highlight multiple notes in a run and isolate/boost the best ones with power and control.

Good Trill

Singing clear notes without vibrato is great, but trill lets the listener know that you really mean it. It punches up whatever is sung. The closest non-musical thing that I can compare trill to is a basketball dunk. 

So, imagine that there are some basketball teams playing. The conflict has gone back and forth all night with both teams scoring points by way of layups and conventional three pointers...really Larry Bird-esque play. Nothing flashy, just fundamentals. But, the game clock is running down and people have to get points and make statements. You are intently observing as Player A, we will call him Michael Jordan or Lebron James or Muggsy Bogues or James Blake, leaps from what feels like mid-court and comes down with a real strong dunk move, running right into Player B and knocking him down with the sheer force of his dunkitude. These are the hot basketball plays that they make posters out of for children to hang in their rooms. The game has been changed. The statement has been made. The dunk has been executed. The other team knows that they are done for. This is the dunk...slam dunk for the layman.

To me, this is what trill is like. It is a move that you make when/if you can and it has the possibility to change the musical composition and make a statement. Sure, it can be silly. But, it can also be beautiful and that is why it is What's Good....Scott...for today.



The title for this blog post was conceived by Marshal Blessing who would just say "all glory to God" if I thanked him for it publicly, so he doesn't really need this, but I feel compelled to credit him.

"Black Rock" by O.A.R.

Hello and welcome to What's Good Scott.  "I'll tell you hwhat" (Hank Hill voice) things have been getting really ugly lately.  When I stare out into the blackness of night I find that my grim outlook is meeting with the bleak prospects of tomorrow...

-sigh-

Have you ever been to Rockville, Maryland?  I haven't, but I want to.  Besides being the birthplace of Jamshid Amouzegar, the former Prime Minister of Iran and famed film director Spike Jonze, Rockville also has a "friendship relationship" (one step below being a sister city) with Jiaxing in the People's Republic of China.  That's a lot of very strange and intriguing things to be wrapped up in a small city with over 60,000 people.  I want to go to Black Rock, but it doesn't even have to be physical...I want to go to "Black Rock" in my mind.  Let me explain...

O.A.R., or Of A Revolution, is an American rock band that has delighted fans with their "jam rock" style of music for two decades.  There is a casual, yet professional vibe that makes them infectious to me.  To expound upon this, I can tell you that while their music sounds effortless, there are many components.  You can find the same level of musical mastery in the studio as you find on the stage.  I'm rarely left unsatisfied by an O.A.R. jam, but "Black Rock" hits the spot like none other.

When you hear the first version of "Black Rock," recorded on 1997's "The Wanderer," it is somewhat lackluster.  A little bit fast, a little unspirited, and a whole lot of potential fill out the undertones of what would become my favorite song.

But then, as jam bands typically do, they started performing it live and it just got better and better.  There are multiple live recordings of "Black Rock."  They have some things in common, but every live recording has it's own idiosyncrasies and special bits of white guy, reggae magic.  Things in common are as follows: 

1. There is always the Black Rock
2. There is always guitars
3. Fighting alone is always the worst damn way that you can fight
4. There is always an old man (spoiler alert, his name is Old Man Time)

As these live performances go, they get real funky.  Listen to how sexy this one gets... I mean, he says "Red Rocks" instead of "Black Rock."  Awesome.

Sometimes there is blood pouring all over Mark Roberge, but no matter what happens in the midst of the song...no matter where it takes him, he brings it back to his desire for love to be an all-encompassing force in our lives.  I have great affection for these live recordings and collected them into Spotify and Youtube playlists to share.  I think that you will like them as well.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-eByGml8oVQ7CsZQ3_i9KTDZ4CwutO9f
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/1250455617/playlist/4MZDCvBF9jmDYGyGcQk9sb

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So, bump one of these playlists in your car with your windows down or in your living room while you dance like no one is watching...because "Black Rock" by O.A.R. is What's Good, Scott.